This past October, American Licorice Company offered a “sweet” opportunity to their associates that enhanced their morale and overall perspective of the world.

In collaboration with In Good Company, American Licorice team members assisted the organization Living Lands & Waters in picking up trash along the Ohio River and then transporting it back to the main barge, where it would be disposed of properly.

Associates were asked to submit their names and an essay explaining why they should be considered for the opportunity. There were many purposes behind the trip besides, ultimately, cleaning up and properly transporting waste. Other companies around the country were also participating, which facilitated relationships between people and sparked enlightening discussions that focused on ideas about how they, as a group, could help bring awareness back to their own communities.

American Licorice associate, Chris Demlein, spoke about his experience, recollecting his time being ankle deep in mud picking up all types of trash.

“I brought back a different perspective and am motivated to look at things differently,” Chris said.

Now, Chris and his wife have started to implement eco-friendly habits and share them with their friends. These new habits include taking plastics to recycling centers that convert them into furniture and sparking proactive conversations with their local recycling center.

“For any company to be able to give their employees an experience ‘outside’ of work will always be a good thing in my opinion,” Chris said. “It shows that the company takes an interest about what’s going on in the world and that they want to involve their employees in some way or another.”

Sherrie Eakins, associate at American Licorice, was also honored to experience this opportunity. She was stunned by both the amount of waste they encountered on the trip and the determination each attendee felt to help right the problem.

“We went out every day to pick up garbage,” Eakins said. “When I stood up and turned around, there were still rows of garbage.At the end of the day, so many of us, I heard from both directions, were exclaiming, ‘Just give me one more minute’, or ‘Let me get just one more piece!’”

Eakins believes that sending employees to do great volunteer work shows that American Licorice Company blooms from a selfless practice.

“It’s knowing that there was an opportunity to go and do something for the future, for my grand-kids and their future,” Eakins said. “I can tell them stories about what I did. To look back and see that I had a small part of something that was bigger than myself, it’s just awesome.”

Clearly, experiences like these can completely change a person’s outlook on life. Both Sherrie and Chris have been impacted in a way that has not only flowed into their daily lifestyles, but their friends’, families’, and associates’, as well. For more information about American Licorice Company, their products, and outreach in the communities around the country, visit http://www.americanlicorice.com/.